My goodbye to Kevin Pereira

On May 31st 2012.. Long time host of G4's Attack Of The Show Kevin Pereira said goodbye and hosted his last show. In the final moments of the show they aired a beautiful video send off for Kevin having him walk down a hallway which was a timeline of his years at G4. The timeline was filled with with mannequins wearing all the various costumes he has worn over the years and moments from his years on G4. Starting when he was a dorky young man in a Canadian tuxedo on arena and ending by putting his suit and tie on a naked mannequin labeled "Kevin's Last show. May 31st 2012". I never thought that I would get emotional for this... but as soon as he started walking down his timeline, I lost it. I started crying. And not choked up, not simply teary eyed... Im talking balling my eyes out. Why you ask? Because I felt like I wasn't just saying goodbye to Kevin Pereira. I felt like I was saying goodbye to a friend. I felt like I was saying goodbye to my childhood.....

G4 has always been a big part of my life. I know most people have a negative opinion on the channel due to all the changes they have made over the year but for me, ive stuck with the channel. I have been watching G4 since its inception when I was a young teenager. I thought that it was the coolest thing I have ever seen. A channel dedicated to gaming? Sign me up! I absolutely loved Arena which Kevin Pereira hosted. It was my first real taste of competitive gaming. It wasn't until I discovered Screen Savers that I really became a huge fan of the channel. I always considered myself a nerd or a geek and for me this was the perfect show to watch. Every night at 7PM I would watch Screen Savers religiously. Then it changed to Attack Of The Show and I became even more of a fan. I had never laughed harder at the time then I did when I would watch AOTS. My earliest memories of Attack Of The Show were of Kevin Pereria teaching me how to hack my PSP to run emulators and laughing hysterically at "It Came From Ebay".

Throughout the years the channel has become less and less about videogames and more about pop culture but none of that mattered to me because there was always Attack Of The Show and as expected there was always Kevin Pereira there at 7PM ready to entertain me. I went through a very rough patch my sophomore year of college where I was at the lowest point in my life. Kevin Pereira and Attack Of The Show saved my life. Everynight at 7PM as always I would watch AOTS and it seemed like all my problems went out the window because for 1 hour every weeknight, none of it mattered. I was laughing, and I was happy watching my favorite television show and for that I am forever grateful.

As many people know Adam Sessler left G4 about a month ago. He was another reason why I have stuck around for so long. Adam Sessler and Kevin Pereira have always been there to entertain me over the years and have always kept me watching the channel because no matter how bad the channel itself got I just enjoyed watching them. As many people know Adam Sessler left G4 and X-Play about a month ago and my heart sank a little when I heard the news.

I got to meet Adam Sessler at this years PAX and got his autograph along with a picture (which you can see in my profile). The more I think about it the weirder it gets for me. This was a man that I have idolized for years and I finally get to meet him. Its just weird to me that after 10+ years of watching I get to meet him not knowing that he would be gone from the channel a few weeks later. Its funny how things like that happen in life.

Then a few weeks after that Kevin Pereira announced that he was leaving Attack Of The Show and my heart sank even more. The last of my favorite hosts which I have been watching for years were leaving. As Kevin said his final goodbyes to everyone on his final show and took that last walk down the Attack Of The Show hallway, I also said goodbye. I said goodbye to G4. I finally said goodbye to a channel that I have been watching since I was an early teen. Watching all those moments throughout Kevins career, I felt like I was also watching my own a timeline of my own life and my time with G4. I stuck with G4 all these years because it reminded me of my childhood and teenage years as a gamer, how I would be sitting in front of the TV at 7PM every day and ready to watch Kevin entertain me. And now its over. Ill still watch G4's E3 coverage but im not sure if I can watch Attack Of The Show or even X-Play anymore. That's not meant to be a knock on ANYONE else who still works at the station because they all do a fantastic job as well. I just feel like its finally time to move on.

I hope that both Adam Sessler and Kevin Pereira move on to both do great things because they both deserve it.

So with that I say Thank You Kevin Pereira. Thank you for all the years that you have entertained me. For all the times you cheered me up when I was at my worst. For allowing me to be proud to be a nerd. I cannot stress enough how much that means to me. I hope nothing but the best for you in whatever you do next in your life. Get some rest buddy. You deserve it.